Socialists Fight Milwaukee's Plan to Privatize Water System

In These Times reports:

Public water, one of the most important legacies of Milwaukee’s Socialist Party, which led the city almost continuously from 1910 to 1960, is now under attack from those who see a chance to convert this fundamental resource into a profit stream via privatization.

In the name of coping with rising deficits, privatization advocates led by City Comptroller Wally Morics have proposed leasing the water system to private operators for 75 to 99 years.

We remind people that privatization only happens when property is owned by the private sector. Handing a company a monopoly that the government still owns is not privatization.